


Another Broken Heart, From a World Apart

by ToxicTraitor



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: M/M, Preyshipping, Spoiler Warning Up To Episode 90, can be read as platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-30
Updated: 2016-01-30
Packaged: 2018-05-17 04:56:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5855020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ToxicTraitor/pseuds/ToxicTraitor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shun finds himself slowly starting to care for Sora but he still can't find it in his heart to forgive Sora, not until it's too late.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Broken Heart, From a World Apart

**Author's Note:**

> I've seen far too much hate for Shun and Sora recently. This is the result of it. It made me sad when people told me that they thought that Shun would never be able to forgive Sora, so I wrote this. I know one day these two will finally get along one day, I know they will.

Shun jolts from his sleep, cold and sweating.  His clothes stick to his body uncomfortably and his hair sticks to his forehead.  He brushes it out of his eyes, straining to see again in the dark, panic pounding hard in his chest.  He’s shaking, trembling from another nightmare.

            He gets up to leave, the room suddenly feels too small, too big, too hot, too cold.  He feels like if he doesn’t go somewhere that he’ll lose his mind.  He wraps his coat around himself and heads out the door.  He doesn’t know where to go so he just let’s his feet find their way around.  He stops at the open balcony.  Maybe the fresh air would do him good, clear his head enough for sleep to find him easier.

            Much to Shun’s dismay, he finds Sora Shiun’in sitting alone on the balcony.  He turns to leave, cursing his feet for wandering out here.  He much rather suffocate in his room than be anywhere near that Academia Brat.  Shun still doesn’t believe that he’s changed, even if all the other Lancers had fallen for Sora’s little charades.

Shun doesn’t even get his foot out of the door before he stops dead in his tracks when he hears Sora crying.  It’s probably nothing more than a trick, a ruse, to win Shun’s trust.  Sora was no better than Dennis.

            Shun knows it’s for the best if he just ignores it, if he just walks away and never looks back.  He shouldn’t care about the Fusion user.  He should just go back to bed but he can’t.  Instincts kick in; the big brother in him can’t ignore Sora’s crying.

            Shun walks out onto the balcony, his footsteps sound too loud for his own comfort, he feels too exposed like this.  He feels vulnerable as he crouches next to Sora, “Why are you sitting out here, Shiun’in?” Shun asks.

            Sora sniffles, wiping the tears away from his face with his sleeve, “I just… I just couldn’t sleep.  What about you?”

            “Neither could I,” Shun replies.  He was quiet for a moment before asking, “Why are you crying?”

            Sora whimpers quietly under his breath, “I was thinking… I can never go back home now.  I’ve betrayed Academia and if I go back the Professor will punish me,”

            Shun frowns, so now the Academia Brat had _his_ feelings hurt?  Wasn’t he the one that had destroyed Heartland?  Shun starts to get up to walk away, he shouldn’t have bothered.  He’s lost his home because of Academia.  This was just a taste of his own medicine, as far as Shun was concerned.  He couldn’t care less if Sora’s feelings were hurt.

            “I’m sorry,” Sora chokes out, his voice breaks, “Now I know how you feel.  I’m sorry, Kurosaki.  I really, really am.  I’m sorry for everything.  I’m sorry that I mocked you and that I threw you down those stairs.  I’m sorry that I destroyed your home, I’m sorry that your sister was taken from you.  I’m sorry, I’m sorry,”

            Shun pauses, mid stride.  His heart aches at the mention of his home and of his sister.  Apologies wouldn’t fix anything.  There was nothing that could reverse the damage that had been done.

            “I don’t care if you can’t accept my apology,” Sora continues, “I don’t deserve it after what I’ve done.  I just want you to know that I’m sorry.  Maybe… maybe one day you can forgive me, or maybe not,” There are more tears in Sora’s voice and it’s hard for Shun to ignore.

            He turns back to Sora, kneeling on his knees in front of him.  He doesn’t know why he’s doing this; he has no reason to either than the fact that he can’t ignore someone’s crying.  He fishes in his pocket and pulls out a small cube.  He places in firmly in Sora’s hands before he gets up to leave again.

            “Caramel?  Why are you giving me caramel?” Sora asks as he stares at the sugary sweet candy in his hands.

            “I used to give those to Ruri when she cried to make her feel better,” Shun explains, “It reminds me of home…  I don’t want it anymore, you can have it,”

            Sora unwraps the plastic wrapper and pops the caramel into his mouth.  It’s sweet, the best caramel he’s ever had.  He closes his eyes and tries to imagine what Shun’s home must have felt like.  If it were as sweet and warm as the caramel melting in his mouth, then Heartland must have been truly beautiful.

            “Thank you, Kurosaki,” Sora murmurs quietly.  Tears stream quietly down his cheeks as he stares up at Shun’s back.

            Shun leaves without another word.   He walks back to his room and tries his best to get to sleep, anything at all, even a few hours would do.  It doesn’t work and before he knows it, he’s watching the sun rise through the window.

            Shun wasn’t going to forgive Sora.

 

Sora pants for a breath.  He’s tired, exhausted, from fighting off more and more of the Obelisk Force.  It’s hard for him to fight the people he once stood by.  He was fighting his classmates, his dorm mates, his fellow soldiers.  He’s starting to imagine just what they had put Heartland through now.  It was different when you were the ones being attacked. 

            Sora’s lost count of how many he’s fought.  He’s too tired to keep standing and he knows he should start looking for Yuuya.  It would be safer if they were together.  Sora was used to exhaustion like this but he knew Yuuya wasn’t.  He was beginning to worry now; they had split up over two hours ago.

            Sora stumbles forward.  His legs threaten to collapse beneath him.  He was wounded too, he had scraped his arm in his last fight and now he was bleeding.  He tried to cover the gash with his hand but he knew it was useless.  He couldn’t stop the blood flow with just his hand, especially when he was too tired to even hold his hand up for that long.

            Sora hears the footsteps long before he sees the face that they belong to.  He whirls, duel disk ready for action.  Another Academia Soldier, perhaps?  Sora wasn’t sure if he had the strength left to fight them off but he wouldn’t go down without a fight.  He much rather get carded right here and now than have to face the Professor anyway.

            Kurosaki Shun glares down at Sora.  All the warmth and kindness Sora had seen in them the night before on that balcony was gone.  Sora’s heart stutters in his chest as he’s reminded of what had happened between them.  Sora can still taste the sweet caramel if he concentrates enough to remember its warm notes.

            Shun grabs Sora by the arm.  Sora tries to move out of the way but Shun was too quick for him.  He doesn’t know what Shun plans to do but the memory of watching him tumble down the stairs replay in his head.  Chances are that Shun just wants his revenge.  What timing too, there was no one here to witness whatever Shun had in store.

            “You’re bleeding,” Shun observes as he stares at the wound on Sora’s arm.

            “So?” Sora asks; his voice trembles a little.  He’s too exhausted, he doesn’t know how he’s managing to stay standing, “I bet you’re happy to see me wounded,”

            Shun says nothing, instead he just gives Sora another ice cold glare.  Shun begins to remove his scarf, tearing off a strip of red fabric from it.  With it, he begins to bandage up Sora’s arm, tying it tightly to staunch the blood flow.

            Sora blinks, confused.  Shun keeps his eyes on his work, silently avoiding Sora’s now curious eyes.

            “Why are you helping me?” Sora demands.  This must all be some kind of trick, Sora knew that Shun hated him.

            “Because,” Shun begins, “You’re bleeding,”

            “So?” Sora repeats, “Shouldn’t you be glad?  Shouldn’t you revel in my pain?”

            Shun frowns even deeper than usual, “I can’t have you bleeding everywhere,” Shun explains, “It will reveal our location.  You should know all about that, shouldn’t you?  Since you tracked us down so easily,”

            Sora flinches at the venom in Shun’s voice.

            “You don’t know anything about surviving a war,” Shun spits, “You only know how to destroy,”

           Sora hates to admit it, but Shun was right.  If he had left a trail of blood behind for the Obelisk Force to find, he would never be able to pick them off in his state.

            Sora can hear it, the pain hiding in Shun’s voice.  Sora shuffles his feet, staring at them rather than at Shun.  He knows how horrible Academia is, at least he knows now that Yuuya has opened his eyes.  He knows what it feels like to be hunted.  Sora couldn’t even turn a corner without fear that he would get caught.

            “I’m sorry,” Sora apologizes, “I know… I know I’m not allowed to apologize to you because of what I’ve done but I’m sorry,”

            Shun keeps his silence but Sora notices the slight change in Shun’s expression as Shun’s eyes soften, that warmth returning to them until they look as warm as that caramel he had shared with Sora.  Shun glances up quickly to read Sora’s eyes.  He sees the remorse in them and he knows Sora isn’t lying, he really was sorry.

            Shun turns his eyes back to his work, he works faster now, tying the bandages in place before he pulls away.  He reties his scarf around his neck; it’s shorter now that he’s torn off a strip of it for Sora’s wound.  There’s a quick flash of pain in Shun’s heart, he’s done the same thing for Yuuto back when he had been alive.

            Shun begins to walk away, leaving Sora alone in the street again.  If it weren’t for the red strip of fabric tied around Sora’s arm, it would’ve seemed as though Shun had never been there.

            Shun wasn’t ready to forgive Sora.

 

           

Shun stares at his chest, the bruises were fading but his ribs were far from done healing.  It still hurt to breathe, especially if he pushed himself too far and he had been doing that a lot lately.  He’s taken down more Obelisk Force members in the past few days than he has in a long time.  His body isn’t used to this kind of strain anymore.

            Shun tries to wrap the fresh bandages around himself.  He repeats the doctor’s instructions in his head, chanting them like an old prayer, trying to mimic her actions from before.  He tries, but he doesn’t get very far.  His chest hurts too much for him to do this on his own.

            He knows he have two choices left.  He could go on without being bandaged and risk the health of his ribs and lungs or he could ask for help.  Shun considers the later for a moment before he changes his mind.  He wouldn’t know who to ask.

            He goes down the list in his mind, crossing off names as he does.  He won’t ask Yuuya, he doesn’t want any reminders of Yuuto, not today at least.  His pride is too high to ask Akaba Reiji.  He won’t ask Serena or Yuzu, he can’t look into their faces without seeing Ruri.

            Shun makes it halfway down the list before he spots Shiun’in Sora standing in the doorway, watching him quietly.  Shun’s body tenses, he’s been waiting for this moment ever since he and Sora had first met.  He knows eventually one of them will finally kill the other, he just doesn’t know why it’s taken Sora this long.  They’ve had plenty of chances before, he knows Sora just wants to see him weak and broken before he kills him.

            “What do you want, Shiun’in?” Shun hisses under his breath, wincing slightly as the sharp exchange of breath causing his lungs to burn in pain, “Did you come here to see your work?  Did you want to see me in pain again?  Go ahead and look, then,”

            Sora stares quietly at Shun’s chest.  The bruises blossom over his pale skin, looking like lilac petals floating in cream.  Sora knows he’s the cause of the bruises.  He knows he’s the reason Shun’s in so much pain.  Sora reaches out attentively, to carefully brush his fingers over the bruises.  He feels Shun flinch back, he doesn’t know if it’s from shock or pain.

            “Let me help you,” Sora says, “I can bandage this for you,”

            Shun’s ready to spit curse words directly in Sora’s face.  He has a few choice words for him, words he’s wanted to say to him since he had fallen down those stairs.  He has a new word for each step that had bitten into his back, his ribs, his stomach. 

            “You won’t heal right if you don’t wrap this up tight,” Sora presses, “I can help,”

            “I don’t want your help,” Shun spits, “You’re the reason why I’m like this,”

            “How can you save your sister if you don’t get any better?” Sora asks.  He smiles to himself when he sees the resistance in Shun’s eyes falter.  He’s starting to learn the magic words to get Shun to listen to him.

            “I can do it myself,” Shun insists, “I’m fine on my own,”

            “Just let me help you, Kurosaki.  You helped me the other day, now let me help you,”

            Shun hesitates but he finally agrees.  Sora is right; he can’t save Ruri if he’s hurt like this.  He needs to heal, to get better so he can take care of her, “Fine,” he mutters, “But then we’re even.  We won’t owe each other anything after this,”

            “That’s fine with me,” Sora says as he takes the bandages from Shun’s hands.

            Sora wraps the bandages around Shun’s chest.  His fingers brush over Shun’s skin and Shun flinches away from the touch.  He still doesn’t trust Sora, not at all.  Now he was regretting not asking Yuuya for help.

            “Stop moving,” Sora scolds, “I need to make sure your ribs are aligned right,”

            Shun wants to move just to spite Sora.  He doesn’t though, he stays still.  The more he cooperated, the sooner this would be over and the sooner Shun could get away from the Academia Brat.

            Shun hisses through his teeth when he feels Sora’s fingers prodding the tender skin over his cracked ribs.  He pulls back, glaring at Sora.

            “I _knew_ it,” he spits, “You just wanted to hurt me again,”

            “Stop complaining,” Sora frowns, his face slipping into a pout, “I’m just checking to make sure your ribs get set right,”

            “Leave me alone, I’ll do it myself,” Shun insists.

            Sora ignores him, prodding Shun’s ribs again before he resumes wrapping the bandages.  He won’t admit it but seeing the bruises left him feeling sick.  He couldn’t believe he had done such a thing.  Those bruises were his fault, he had hurt Shun so much and he regretted it now.

            “I’m sorry,” Sora mumbles quietly, “I really mean it, Kurosaki.  I know you don’t want to hear that but I really regret everything I’ve done to hurt you,”

            “I don’t want your apologies,” Shun mutters, “You don’t deserve my forgiveness,”

            “I know,” Sora whimpers.  He bows his head to hide the tears in his eyes.  He doesn’t want Shun to see him crying like this, “I’m done,” he mumbles, standing, “You’re all set,”

            Shun runs his fingers over the fresh bandages.  He can’t deny that Sora did a good job with them.  He did just a good of a job as the doctor had done.

            “Thanks,” Shun grumbles.  He feels bad, despite himself, now that Sora is crying.  He hates that, he hates watching people cry and he hates that he cares about Sora at all, even if he only cares a little.

            Shun still wasn’t ready to forgive Sora, not yet.

 

Somehow Shun always ended up on his own.  He had been with Sawatari and Gongenzaka half an hour ago but somewhere along the line they had split up and Shun lost track of them.  It’s not that Shun was worried, he liked being alone.  He didn’t have to pretend when he was alone, he could enjoy what little peace he had and let his mind travel to its darkest places.

            Shun doesn’t get very far before he runs into Shiun’in Sora again.  Just like him, Sora was all alone.  Sora leans against the wall for support, trembling and shaking from pain.  He’s injured, badly at that, he can’t walk very far without the pain catching up with him and knocking him back into the ground.

            Shun’s heart twinges when he sees the look in Sora’s eyes.  Sora’s eyes light up, filling with hope as soon as Sora spots him.  Shun bites into his tongue, trying to hold back whatever emotions threatened to make themselves known.

            Shun can’t stand that look in Sora’s eyes.  He can’t stand to look at Sora.  He was too small, too childlike, too much like Ruri or Yuuto when they were younger, smaller.  Despite Shun’s best efforts, he can’t ignore the fact that he’s starting to actually care about Sora. 

            “What happened to you?” Shun asks.

            “I’m hurt,” Sora admits almost sheepishly, “I can’t walk,”

            Shun sighs, lifting Sora onto his back so he can carry him.  He’s careful, pulling Sora’s arms around his neck and gripping Sora’s legs carefully.  He tries to balance Sora’s weight until he’s sure that Sora is comfortable and no longer in pain.

            “What are you doing?” Sora demands, shock clear in his voice.

            “I’m carrying you,” Shun states the obvious.

            “Why?”

            “You said you couldn’t walk,” Shun reminds, annoyance slipping into his tone.

            “But you hate me,” Sora insists.

            “I don’t…” Shun trails off, unable to finish, “If I leave you here, you’ll only cause trouble,”

            Sora sighs, feeling more comfortable now.  He buries his face into Shun’s shoulder, relaxing.  Now that Shun is holding him, the pain in his legs doesn’t hurt as much.  He feels safer now, now that Shun can fight off anyone if necessary.  Sora was too exhausted to protect himself anymore.

            Shun tries to walk carefully so he doesn’t jostle Sora too much.  If Sora really was in pain, being rough would only make it worse.  Shun bites his lip as the memories of holding Ruri like this come flooding back.  He’s carried her on his back countless times but back then it had been for fun and not out of necessity.

            Shun doesn’t get very far before his shoulder begins to feel wet.  Sora’s crying into his shoulder, he whimpers quietly and his shoulders shake with each sob.  Shun pauses, coming to a stop.

            “Does it hurt?” Shun asks, “Tell me where, I’ll try to fix it,”

            Sora sniffs, “I’m fine,”

            “You’re crying because you’re in too much pain,” Shun comments.  His voice sounds too concerned, “You’ll attract attention,” Shun tacks on at the end.  He doesn’t want Sora to think that he might care about him.

            “I’m not in pain,” Sora cries.

            “Then why are you crying?” Shun demands.

            Sora buries his head back into Shun’s shoulder, “Because… I don’t deserve this… Why are you helping me after everything I’ve done to you?  Why are you helping me when you can’t even forgive me?”

            Shun bites his lip.  He doesn’t know why either.  He could have left Sora in the street on his own.  He could’ve abandoned Sora so many times before.  So why hasn’t he?  Doesn’t he have every right in the universe to hate Sora with all his being?

            He can’t.  He can’t hate Sora no matter how hard he tries. 

            “I need the Lancers,” Shun decides is the safest thing to say, “If I want my sister back, I need them.  If I leave you behind, then they’ll abandon me,”

            Sora sniffs again, “Put me down, Kurosaki.  Let me walk on my own,”

            Shun refuses.  He can’t leave Sora alone out here.  He _knows_ what happens when someone is left alone, he’s had that happen too many times and he won’t let that happen again.

            “You can’t walk,” Shun reminds, “I’ll carry you back then you can go find some hole to be miserable in for all I care,”

            Sora doesn’t fight anymore; he leans into Shun for support.  Shun tries to ignore the twinge in his heart; he doesn’t need another person to care about.  He doesn’t need someone else to mourn when they’re gone.

            Shun can’t forgive Sora, he can’t without it breaking his heart.

 

Shun wasn’t there when it happened.  He didn’t know about it until he saw the look in Yuuya’s eyes.  It took him all of two seconds to recognize that pain that he’s seen more than enough for a hundred lifetimes.  It’s all too much and some part of him just snaps and he breaks.

            He has Yuuya’s back against the wall in just seconds.  He glares down at Yuuya, trying to control his emotions.  He’s so close to cracking, so horribly close.  The look of pain and grief in Yuuya’s eyes only brings him closer to the edge.

            “Give it to me,” Shun demands, holding out his hand.

            Yuuya shakes his head, refusing.

            Shun tries again, only with more force in his voice, “Give it to me, _now_ ,”

            “No,” Yuuya’s voice trembles.  It’s too close to crying, it’s too hoarse from crying.  After all, he’s just witness the murder of his friend, “I won’t,”

            Shun grabs Yuuya’s wrists in his hands, capturing them in one so the other is free to tug at Yuuya’s pockets.  Shun tries in vein, patting Yuuya’s empty pockets but he can’t find what he’s looking for.

            “I won’t let you hurt it,” Yuuya says, “You can’t do that to him now that he’s gone, Kurosaki.  I won’t let you hurt him like that,”

            Shun shakes and his vision begins to go blurry.  He swallows back the tears that are threatening to make themselves known.  Now is not the time or the place to cry.

            “Please,” Shun begs, his voice breaks.  His façade is breaking, the cracks in it finally showing.  He’s not as strong as he wishes he were.  He wasn’t strong enough to protect anyone he cared about, “Please just give it to me,”

            Shun doesn’t know what Yuuya sees in his eyes but Yuuya finally gives it.  He takes it from his duel disk, the deck of cards that had belonged to Sora.  He hands it to Shun, hesitating a little, “Don’t hurt it,” he pleads, “Please,”

            Shun turns the cards over in his hands.  The first one he sees is ‘Fusion’.  For a moment, his heart stops at the sight of the card that has hurt him too many times.  He ignores that, he doesn’t want to think about such things now.

            Shun removes his scarf and wraps it tightly around Sora’s cards, “I’ll keep it safe for him,” Shun promises Yuuya, “Don’t worry,”

            Shun runs his hands over the worn, red fabric.  His heart aches for the owner of the deck in his hands.  Things like this always happen, he reminds himself.  Things like this always happen, so he shouldn’t feel sad anymore, especially over Sora Shiun’in.  Shun can’t fight it anymore, now it’s too painfully clear just how much he cares about Sora. 

            Shun’s finally ready to forgive Sora, but now it’s too late.


End file.
